been mysteriously carrying in a briefcase and struck Albright in the head with it. This marked the first time ROH recognized Pearce as NWA Champion since he had won the title in September 2007. On June 27, 2008, in Dayton, Ohio, Pearce defeated ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness via disqualification in a Title vs. Title match. Originally McGuinness had pinned Pearce to win his NWA World Title but the decision was reversed when the NWA's Over The Top Rule was enforced and since Pearce had been thrown over the top rope, McGuinness was disqualified and both men retained their championships. Pearce's feud with Albright picked up steam, as on June 28, 2008, Pearce and newest Sweet N'Sour Inc. member Go Shiozaki lost to Brent Albright and FIP World Champion Roderick Strong when the referee stopped the match after Albright landed repeated knee strikes to the head of Pearce. Post-match, Pearce threw a fireball into the face of Albright, resulting in Pearce being suspended for 30 days while Albright was out of action to convalesce and recover from the burns. On August 2, 2008, the feud took another turn when Brent Albright defeated Pearce via submission with the crowbar to win the NWA World Championship. This came after NWA Officials presented Pearce with a replica NWA "Red" title belt, repeating history as Jack Brisco defeated Harley Race for the NWA Red Belt after Race was presented with it by Sam Muchnick in 1973. On September 20, 2008, Pearce continued his year-long feud with Albright, defeating him at Glory by Honor VII to begin his second reign as champion. On September 25, 2008, it was announced Pearce had departed Ring of Honor due to company cost-cutting measures. On October 26, 2008, Ring of Honor announced that Adam Pearce would become the new Head Booker of the company, replacing Gabe Sapolsky. Despite his backstage role, Pearce made occasional wrestling appearances in ROH, notably during Caged Collision pay-per-view in Chicago on January 31, 2009, taking the pin in the Steel Cage main event. He also appeared at the "7th Anniversary Show" in New York, NY on March 21, 2009, losing to Bobby Dempsey in 30 seconds, and at "Eye of the Storm 2" on December 18, 2009, in Manassas, VA, where he teamed with Matt Classic in a loss to The Set. On August 15, 2010, Pearce was replaced as the head booker of